


Beautiful in White

by definekjd



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Flower Crowns, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 06:51:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14014605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/definekjd/pseuds/definekjd
Summary: Baekhyun doesn't have chocolates to gift Jongdae on Valentine's Day, but he does have a flower veil.





	Beautiful in White

**Author's Note:**

> haaaaa yes so it's 3 am and i'm writing this instead of sleeping. inspired by [this](https://twitter.com/baekchen_pics/status/975339893332348928), and also [this](https://twitter.com/kjdpics/status/897784620393148416). baekchen is bad for my health. like, very bad. e.g. i'm supposed to be sleeping now but i'm not and it's baekchen's fault. title is from the westlife song.

"God. You're both idiots," is the last thing that Baekhyun expects to come from Park Chanyeol when there's only the three of them in the room. Chanyeol is usually at the receiving end of that, so often it's almost a tradition. Now, though, the words are coming out of Chanyeol's mouth, directed at both Jongdae and Baekhyun.

Baekhyun just gapes.

Chanyeol huffs in exasperation. He stands before neither of them can say anything, and uses his long ass legs to stride out of the room.

A slam of the door, before silence envelops the room.

Baekhyun chances a look at Jongdae. Jongdae's eyes meet his. Baekhyun looks away.

He clears his throat, because he's a total scaredy cat whose biggest fear is for anyone to discover how much of a scaredy cat he is. "So who're you giving it to?" he snaps, voice coming out louder than he intended.

It's hard to not look at Jongdae when he's right there, across Baekhyun, sitting cross-legged with his Valentine's gift hidden behind his back and his t-shirt slipping off one shoulder because it's Baekhyun's and Baekhyun was somehow born with shoulders that are disproportionately broader than other parts of his body. Baekhyun is trying so hard to look away, but he's losing. Fuck, fuck, fuck, Baekhyun is so fucked.

"Who're _you_ giving yours to?" Jongdae retaliates.

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, mostly for show. He doesn't need Jongdae to answer. Baekhyun knows Jongdae's giving his Valentine's gift to Kim Junmyeon, that upperclassman with the awkward laugh and lame taste in humour. Baekhyun's so much better than that. Stupid Junmyeon. Stupid Jongdae. Baekhyun clutches the Valentine's gift he's got hidden behind his own back tighter in his hands. Yeah, no, actually: stupid Baekhyun. Yup, that sounds about right.

"Why does Chanyeol know and not me?" Jongdae presses on. "I thought I was your best friend!"

"I—" Why the fuck is Jongdae shouting? "Well, I thought I was _your_ best friend!" huffs Baekhyun.

Jongdae's eyes widen, a little. He seems a bit taken aback, before he catches himself and relaxes. "Rock, paper, scissors?" he suggests.

Baekhyun blinks. Relaxes, too. "Rock, paper, scissors," he agrees.

Withdrawing his right hand from behind his back as Jongdae does the same, Baekhyun allows himself to think. Jongdae does rock ninety percent of the time because he's got that men-always-do-rock-and-I'm-manly complex, so Baekhyun settles on paper.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

 _Fuck_. Jongdae wins with scissors—that cunning little shit—and lunges forward, but Baekhyun is quick, kicking himself backwards with his fingers curling protectively around his Valentine's box.

"Wait, wait!" he screams. Jongdae stops mid-pounce. He has one hand stretched out and another hidden behind his back. Baekhyun's throat feels dry. "Let's do three rounds. Make it fair."

Jongdae squints at him, but retreats after a moment, settling back on his spot across from Baekhyun. "Okay," he says, "but put your box in front of you."

Baekhyun doesn't fight that. He knows Jongdae always plays fair and is totally not the type to take advantage of Baekhyun leaving his box in plain sight to snatch it from him. So, swiftly, Baekhyun pulls the box from behind his back and places it before him, just short of touching his crossed legs. Baekhyun's is a simple one—a round, brown box with a light blue lid, the size only a little smaller than his chemistry textbook. Jongdae eyes the box. He looks back up, and the match resumes.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

This time, Jongdae _does_ play rock, and Baekhyun wins easily with paper, so Jongdae retrieves his box from behind his back and places it before him in defeat. It's green, like everything that Baekhyun associates with Jongdae; green because Jongdae was born on the autumnal equinox and somehow it just fits. To complete the look, a green ribbon adorns the lid. It's very... cute. It's also probably for Junmyeon. Or someone else. Either way, they're extremely lucky, and Baekhyun can already feel his heart breaking into pieces. Wow, what a way to die.

It only now downs in Baekhyun that if he loses this round, Jongdae is going to find out that Baekhyun's been harbouring a stupid crush-so-deep-it-could-be-love on Jongdae for a long while now and Baekhyun's going to be so screwed. If Baekhyun wins, he's going to find out the lucky person who gets to be Jongdae's Valentine and he's not sure he's ready to know. Either way, Baekhyun's constantly losing.

Also, Chanyeol's an idiot for not telling Baekhyun who Jongdae's Valentine is even if he knows, and for letting Baekhyun make a Valentine's gift for Jongdae when he's already known Jongdae's making his for someone else. He is so going to punch Chanyeol in the guts, _hard_.

"Rock, paper, scissors!"

Apparently, the world hates Baekhyun, because somehow Baekhyun managed to play paper three times in a row and as with the natural order of things, Baekhyun loses, as he always does. Jongdae—always so quick—snatches Baekhyun's box and it's too late for Baekhyun to grab it back before Jongdae's already pulling the lid open. So, on instinct, Baekhyun goes for Jongdae's box.

He opens Jongdae's cute green Valentine's gift lid and—oh.

Wait, what?

"You," Baekhyun starts. He frowns. "You want me to be your Valentine?"

There is a single bar of store-bought chocolate in the box, laid atop shredded pieces of scrap paper, because of course Jongdae always makes sure his things look pretty—Baekhyun would know. What catches and keeps Baekhyun's attention, though, is the pink card with Jongdae's neat little handwriting that says:

_Baekhyun ♡_  
_Will you_  
_be my Valentine's?_  
_From your knight in shining armour_  
_Jongdae c:_

Baekhyun just stares wordlessly at the words written on the card. Reads it once. Reads it twice. Reads it over and over again. It does clearly state his name. Baekhyun. B-a-e-k-h-y-u-n. Unless his own mind is playing him, which in that case—

"Is this for me?" cuts through Baekhyun's train of thoughts and pulls him back to the surface as he looks up to the sight of Jongdae staring down at Baekhyun's Valentine box.

"Uh," Baekhyun says, dumbly.

Baekhyun still remembers, word-by-word, what he's got written on the card he has slipped into the box.

_Jongdae, this one's for you. Oh, and my heart—this one's for you, too. Take it. I'm all yours._

Which Baekhyun's guessing Jongdae is reading now. Maybe. He looks very... confused, though. Baekhyun is quite sure he has a pretty legible handwriting. Right?

"It's a flower wreath," Jongdae states, as a matter-of-factly.

"Um," Baekhyun says. "Yeah."

"A wedding headdress," Jongdae adds. His eyes slide up, until he's looking Baekhyun in the eye from under his lashes. They're very long, his lashes. Looking at them makes Baekhyun feel all weirdly soft inside. Then again it might have to do with how Jongdae's looking right back at him, gaze unwavering.

"Um. Uh."

A lift of one of Jongdae's perfect brows.

Baekhyun is still a little dumbstruck, so he settles with what he knows best: long-winded excuses. "So Baekbeom got that for his girlfriend because he's sappy like that but she cheated on him and he got sad and doesn't want it anymore, and Kyungsoo is one stingy, horrible friend who wouldn't teach me his ways of making chocolate, and I am frankly too broke to buy ready-made chocolate, so you get the headdress." There. That wasn't so hard. "It's pretty. It'll look pretty on you. I think. I—know. I know, I mean. I—you—uh."

Jongdae just stares as Baekhyun swings his arms and makes incomprehensible, elaborate hand gestures, to make up for his intelligible speech. Baekhyun isn't sure Jongdae understands. Baekhyun isn't sure _he_ himself understands.

"I mean." Baekhyun is just spewing out gibberish now. He doesn't blame himself, though. He has a feeling that Jongdae has to do with how hard it is for Baekhyun to speak like the cultured being he's supposed to be. It has got to do with Jongdae's lashes, Baekhyun is sure. And also his lips, the upturned ends, those kitty curls, yeah, yeah. And his cheekbones, too, the faint tinge on his cheeks. Jongdae would definitely look pretty with a flower-wreath-wedding-headdress-veil-thing on his head. "Can I—" Just the imagery makes Baekhyun feel like a soft puddle of goo. "You want to—" He puts Jongdae's box aside, shifting forward on his crossed legs, just a bit. "Do you want to try it on?"

Jongdae's eyes go wide, and the tinge on his cheeks might have darkened a little. "I—what?"

"It's fine if you don't want to!" Baekhyun backtracks, almost immediately.

He watches as Jongdae blinks at him. Blinks again. And then the blush on his cheeks darken even more, the tip of his ears burning red adorably. "I've never said I didn't want to."

That gets Baekhyun moving.

He's a little slow, slightly hesitant, but he scoots closer and reaches for the box on Jongdae's lap, fishing out the flower veil. He fixes the veil, grazes his fingers on the white, plastic flowers, and reaches up to place the wreath on Jongdae's head.

Baekhyun pulls back, and his breath catches in his throat.

"It's beautiful," he says, so soft he almost doesn't hear it. "You. You are," he corrects.

Jongdae looks visibly abashed, red colouring the high of his cheekbones and eyes so round and clear they're easily the prettiest pair Baekhyun has ever seen. He looks like he wants to protest, and he does, mumbling something along the lines of _no_ , or _stop that_ , except he doesn't push Baekhyun away, doesn't even try to shake the veil off his head.

They sit there for a long moment, Baekhyun taking in whatever he can with his eyes—Jongdae with a flower veil resting on his head, pretty Jongdae, beautiful Jongdae, his knight-in-shining-armour-Jongdae—and Jongdae staring right back at Baekhyun in silence, as if waiting for the tinge on his cheeks to die down, willing it to drain away.

There's only a light dusting of pink on Jongdae's cheeks now, moments later. "So, now what?" Jongdae asks, eyes meeting Baekhyun's, like a tiny challenge.

Baekhyun remembers Jongdae's box. Jongdae's Valentine's gift. The one for Baekhyun. "I thought you were planning to give yours to Junmyeon."

Jongdae laughs. He outright laughs, a short burst that rings melodiously in Baekhyun's ears. "You out of your mind? I would never. Not Junmyeon." Another laugh. "God, Baekhyun, _no_."

The atmosphere is lighter now. Less jumpy. Easier. Familiar. Baekhyun grins.

Jongdae's laughter fades. "I thought yours was for Kyungsoo." A soft, soft smile replaces the rambunctious laughter. It's Baekhyun's favourite smile.

"Kyungsoo hits me twenty-four seven and his punches hurt like hell," Baekhyun says easily. "I'm not a masochist."

Jongdae shrugs. The smile on his face widens. It's still Baekhyun's most favourite smile.

"So, now what?" Jongdae repeats. This time, he doesn't let Baekhyun answer. "Be my boyfriend."

Baekhyun's heart skips a beat. Or two. Maybe ten. "Ain't I supposed to have a choice there?" He doesn't have time to focus on the technicalities of heartbeats right now.

Jongdae shrugs, again.

"You look very confident," Baekhyun says.

Sunlight streams through the cheap curtain of the lone window adorning Jongdae bedroom. Jongdae's Valentine's box has long been forgotten, pushed aside in favour of better things. Like being closer to Jongdae without having a box get in the way. Baekhyun's box, the lid put away, lies open on Jongdae's lap. The flower veil on Jongdae's head is beautiful, but Jongdae is tenfold more.

"I'm pretty confident," Jongdae says. His voice comes out so soft, like he wants no one safe for Baekhyun to hear it. Easily, it's incentive enough for Baekhyun to lean closer. Always closer. "Besides, I've got the flower veil on my head." A teasing tilt of his head, then, "You're not leaving me at the altar, are you?"

That catches Baekhyun off-guard, something so far away (in the future) yet so close (sitting across him), but he quickly regains his footing, snorting into the space between them.

"No," he says.

Jongdae licks his lips. "No?"

Their gazes don't waver. Baekhyun shakes his head. "No."

Jongdae bites into his lower lip gently. Baekhyun's eyes slip down, this time, transfixed on the movement.

"We're so cheesy," Baekhyun says, but there's no spite to it, no gall, and he knows he's smiling like an idiot because he _knows_ Jongdae's watching the way he stares at Jongdae's lips, the curl at the ends, the dig of his teeth into the pink flesh.

Jongdae snorts, softly. "Come here, you," he says, two hands reaching out and finding purchase in the front fabric of Baekhyun's t-shirt—(makes it stretch tightly around his back because Baekhyun has always had shoulders that are disproportionately broader than other parts of his body)—to pull him closer—(Jongdae's lips are as plush as Baekhyun has so many times imagined)—always closer.

**Author's Note:**

> design for the boxes are based on showtime ep 4


End file.
